Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems

A tribute to the sumptuous jewelry and the glamorous history of Van Cleef & Arpels

For more than a century, the designs of the French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels have represented the marriage of an unrivaled sense of elegance with an extraordinary level of technical expertise and prowess. The comprehensive monograph Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems is a glittering, gorgeous tribute to a century of luxurious, glamorous jewelry design and incomparable mastery of materials. Lavishly illustrated with meticulous photographs by Patrick Gries, the book’s pages are filled with sparkling chalcedony, cornelian, rubies, emeralds and colored diamonds, beautifully set off and enhanced by the jeweler’s designs (at alternate moments whimsical or understated, as the materials demand).

Suggesting the complexity and richness of Van Cleef & Arpels’ output, the book is organized thematically around categories such as “Abstractions,” “Couture,” “Nature” and “Icons,” and additionally features some of the legendary stones from the annals of the house’s history, such as the “Blue Princess” sapphire and the “Walska Briolette Diamond” brooch. Texts by art historians, personalities from the fashion world and mineralogists offer context and highlight the full extent of the jeweler’s art. Essential for those who love and lust after jewelry design, this eminently covetable volume celebrates the Van Cleef & Arpels style.

PRAISE AND REVIEWS

Blouin Art Info

puts a spotlight on the raw materials used by the Maison’s artisans as well as on the final innovative designs, showcasing the intersection between the art of jewelry making and the science of mineralogy.

Wallpaper

Caragh McKay

Page upon sumptuous page of historical jewels…. Among the most wondrous are the objet designs of the early 20th century – a carved jade pillbox, gold champagne swizzle, and a quartz and onyx nightlight among them.

CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 11/26/2016

This 1933 photograph of Singer sewing machine heiress Daisy Fellows wearing an Elsa Schiaparelli dress and two bracelets transformed from an Indian inspiration necklace of platinum, emeralds and diamonds, is reproduced from Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems, one of our top 10 Fashion Gift Books of 2016. "Since its beginnings in 1906, the elegant Maison Van Cleef & Arpels has always been the privileged supplier of rare gemstones and unique jewels to royalty, aristocrats, business magnates, billionaires, exotic Maharanis, artists and Hollywood stars," the editors write. "They all mingled together at the same international events, creating that sparkling tableau vivant known as Café Society, all bedecked in sumptuous Van Cleef & Arpels jewels: the epitome of beauty, exclusivity and ultimate refinement." continue to blog

CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 11/27/2016

This 2014 Carpe Koi bracelet watch, made of gold, Mandarin garnets, sapphires, tourmalines, spinels and diamonds is reproduced from The Art & Science of Gems, Editions Xavier Barral's deluxe tribute to the opulent jewelry and dazzling history of Van Cleef & Arpels. Paging through this beautifully produced book, even those who have no previous interest in jewelry design will be unable to tear themselves away from the detail, the ingenuity and the flat-out luxury of the bracelets, pins, earrings, necklaces, tiaras, watches, rings, vanity cases, smoking sets, clips, bottles and assorted glimmering treasures that Van Cleef & Arpels' designers have concocted for the international collector set over the last 110 years. See more Staff Favorite Holiday Gift Books. continue to blog

CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 11/25/2016

Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems, just out from the renowned Parisian art and design publisher Editions Xavier Barral, is an astonishing book offering "page upon sumptuous page of historical jewels," in the words of Wallpaper's Caragh McKay. "Among the most wondrous are the objet designs of the early 20th century – a carved jade pillbox, gold champagne swizzle, and a quartz and onyx nightlight (pictured here, from 1930) among them." An excellent Holiday Gift choice for the fashion forward or luxuriously inclined. But equally fascinating for lovers of art, photography, gemology and the history of high design. continue to blog

A tribute to the sumptuous jewelry and the glamorous history of Van Cleef & Arpels

For more than a century, the designs of the French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels have represented the marriage of an unrivaled sense of elegance with an extraordinary level of technical expertise and prowess. The comprehensive monograph Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art & Science of Gems is a glittering, gorgeous tribute to a century of luxurious, glamorous jewelry design and incomparable mastery of materials. Lavishly illustrated with meticulous photographs by Patrick Gries, the book’s pages are filled with sparkling chalcedony, cornelian, rubies, emeralds and colored diamonds, beautifully set off and enhanced by the jeweler’s designs (at alternate moments whimsical or understated, as the materials demand).

Suggesting the complexity and richness of Van Cleef & Arpels’ output, the book is organized thematically around categories such as “Abstractions,” “Couture,” “Nature” and “Icons,” and additionally features some of the legendary stones from the annals of the house’s history, such as the “Blue Princess” sapphire and the “Walska Briolette Diamond” brooch. Texts by art historians, personalities from the fashion world and mineralogists offer context and highlight the full extent of the jeweler’s art. Essential for those who love and lust after jewelry design, this eminently covetable volume celebrates the Van Cleef & Arpels style.